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Beastiary
Isfet Isfet (meaning "injustice", "chaos", or "violence"; as a verb, “to do evil”) is a classical Eastern African term from Egyptian mythology used in philosophy, which was built on a religious, social and political affected dualism.'' Isfet'' was thought to be the counterpart of the term Ma'at. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, Isfet and Ma'at built a complementary and also paradoxical dualism: one could not exist without its counterpart. Isfet and Ma'at balanced each other. An Egyptian king (pharaoh) was appointed to “achieve” Ma'at, which means that he had to keep and protect justice and harmony by destroying Isfet. In the eyes of the Egyptians the world was always ambiguous; the actions and judgements of a king were thought to simplify these principles in order to keep Ma'at by separating order from chaos/good from evil. The Isfet are portrayed in Among The Veils as a race of parasitic energy forms that manifest in the shape of demonic sentient arachnids. Isfet are found in two categories: troops and rulers. Troops The four categories of Isfet units are listed below: Daddy Long Legs Isfet calvary. Taller spiders with blades on their legs as well as a spur like venom that can reach long distances shot from the tail. "The fleshy melds of both man and arachnid with razor spurs were labeled as Daddy Long Legs. Their venom was the least potent of the bunch but their blades were more than compensation. Although behind the Veil, I had seen bullets cut them down just the same. Among the Veil seemed a whole different case entirely; there the Daddy Long Legs appeared immune to metal. In fact, it was to be noted that I had yet to see where modern warfare worked behind the Veil. These creatures functioned as cavalry with their ability to cover a distance and clear paths." -Among The Veils, page 208 Passengers Isfet archers. Small spiders that can propel self long distances like projectiles. Once a target is hit, Passengers embed in the skin and travel to the base of the skull to take over an Attribute. "The Passengers were essentially archers" -Among The Veils, page 208 Phantoms Isfet pikeman. Large black spiders that can appear and dissappear behind victims. Recluse Isfet infantry/bodyguards. Translucent faceless four arms men with curved blades of necrotic venom. Rulers Very little details are known about the leadership of the Isfet other than they follow an informal feudalism. There are Isfet Lords who control individual domains or ideas themselves called Majors. Each Major has several vassals known as Minors. Minors Lieutenants. Large talking spiders composed of organic and artificial components. "Surpris- ingly, this was like no other crawly I have seen. Its legs seemed synthetic, made of a plastic or a polymer resembling Tupperware, maybe even Legos. The farther its body emerged from the silk tunnel, the more I noticed its body looked assembled from a painted black model set. Each piece seemed built and assembled, painted with stencils of day glow-colored symbols the same language as the argot painted on the walls of the apartment I found Desta in. Its head came into view and I expected to see the familiar visage of multiple eyes and fangs. Instead, it wore a head pieces like a tragedy and comedy affixed by small bolts that seemed locked into its head. The mask was white and eerie, multiple eye slits and a cut for its fangs in lieu of either a frown or a smile." -Among The Veils, page 254 Majors Generals of immense force and magical power. Faceless and naked glowing figures who ride giant taratula like steeds "Crawling along the ceiling of the canopy, upside down as its black eyes beheld me was a tarantula the size of a duplex. Standing on the creature’s back, fully upright, naked, and glowing in a liquid chalk white, was a figure. It was human without gender, definition or face. The figure was muscular, tall, toned and carrying a huge cleaver in its phantasmal, human-shaped hand. Slowly it plodded forward, its hissing becoming words in my mind." -Among The Veils, page 196